ANNISTON, Ala. – Members of the 201st Regional Support Group’s Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or CBRN, Task Force, Georgia Army National Guard, and the Georgia State Defense Force conducted Vigilant Guard 26-1 in Anniston, Alabama, Dec. 2-5, 2025.
The Georgia Department of Defense conducted the training to train and refine its Standard Operating Procedures in a Deployment Readiness Exercise.
The Vigilant Guard training event was designed to enhance National Homeland Defense Readiness by rehearsing interoperability between the Georgia Department of Defense, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and federal and civilian partners. The 201st Regional Support Group fortified the skills needed to save lives in a simulated large-scale catastrophe.
“It is helpful to see how your role interacts and integrates to the larger mission overall.” says U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ben Goins, an internal medicine physician with the CBRN Assistance Support Element, or CASE, teams.
The CBRN Task Force was assisted by volunteers from other states and civilian role-players as they practiced their skills. They practiced decontamination procedures, search and rescue, casualty extraction and medical treatment while the CASE team and the National Guard Quick Response Force trained in security operations to enhance force protection. Simultaneously, Georgia State Defense Force personnel cleared abandoned cars and fallen trees along a simulated route and used remotely operated drones to practice route reconnaissance.
“It was great training for our service members, especially for the DECON (Decontamination) element, which is the 1160th [Transportation Company] taking on that new responsibility,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Yocoyani Villela, a manager for the CASE teams.
Vigilant Guard honed interagency cooperation in the event of a catastrophic CBRN incident or large-scale natural disaster. It also reinforced the Georgia Department of Defense’s ability to supplement the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and local responders on short notice.
“I think this helps any Soldier, whether it be senior enlisted or junior enlisted, just for the well-being of watching somebody, learning the training, in regard to if somebody needs some kind of assistance,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Victor Rodriguez, a motor vehicle operator with the Rome-based 1160th Transportation Company.
Vigilant Guard 26-1 successfully concluded on Dec. 5, completing its training objectives with no degradation to personnel or equipment. Lessons that were learned from the event will be integrated into future training and real-world scenarios, enhancing force readiness for any eventuality.